Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is Going to Happen review – hilarity and heartbreak

Arts Centre Melbourne, then Sydney and AdelaideFrom the producers of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, this brilliantly ambiguous one-man show poses the question: does standup comedy need to be true?The cliche of the sad clown – the jester who uses laughs to …

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Tony Slattery: the generous improv great whose successes masked his suffering

He was a wonderful team player in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and affection for him grew when he disclosed the severe pain and distress he was trying keep at bay• Comedian Tony Slattery dies aged 65• Tony Slattery: a life in picturesImprovisation has seld…

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‘King of the musicools!’ Inside the outrageous musical send-up of Andrew Lloyd Webber

It’s had hit runs in Edinburgh and Soho – and was the Guardian’s funniest show of 2024. Now it’s blazing into the West End. Comedy duo Flo & Joan (who were both in Joseph at school) reveal all about One Man MusicalOne Man Musical was launched under…

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Russell Howard looks back: ‘Am I peculiar? You’d struggle to find anyone who does standup who isn’t a bit weird’

The comedian on mining his very large family for material, avoiding the celebrity circus, and being an unashamed standup fanboyBorn in Bath in 1980, Russell Howard is one of the UK’s most successful comedians. He started his career on the standup circu…

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Titanique review – camp musical sails into silliness with Céline Dion onboard

Criterion theatre, LondonIt goes on and on but this madcap spoof of the blockbuster film has a sparkling cast, including Lauren Drew as Dion and Layton Williams as the icebergImagine James Cameron’s 1997 disaster film romance Titanic as a camp musical …

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Louise Young: ‘Some hecklers are just excited to be out of the house’

The comic on mining her wild life for material and her disastrous early gigs shouting punchlines over Sky Sports in a pubWhy did you start doing comedy?I wanted to write funny material, and the only real way into it seemed to be getting on a stage. Wel…

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Samuel Barnett: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)

The English actor shares what tickles his funny bone, from a bracing bagpipes outtake to a foolproof moment of awkward familial physical interactionMore summer essentialsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHi Guardian Australia. …

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Chills, chuckles and Cate Blanchett in Chekhov: the best theatre, dance and comedy coming in 2025

Gary Oldman’s tackling Beckett, Strictly winner Chris McCausland is on a huge standup tour – and mods can rev their scooters to a dance Quadrophenia Continue reading…

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Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball & Boe review – a deliciously silly sendup

Soho theatre, London Impersonating chart-topping singing duo Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, the comics trade trills and gags as showbiz egos clash and simmering tension comes to the boil“The most successful double act no one you know has ever seen,” is ho…

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Standing Up review – autism gets sappy treatment in didactic family road movie

Familiar worries about how to raise a neurodiverse child are played out with empathy but little subtletyWhile normally I’m a soft touch for any film about autistic children, one just can’t let something as sappy and annoyingly didactic as this road mov…

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